Created by the public interest law firm Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal in Washington, D.C.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Comments Filed on Behalf of Conservation Groups for Changes at the Criterion Wind Project

On
behalf of a coalition of eight conservation organizations, MGC recently
submitted comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service urging that the agency
take action at the Criterion Wind Project in Western Maryland to reduce bird
and bat mortality. The comments were submitted in response to a draft
Environmental Assessment, an application for an Incidental Take Permit, and a
proposed Habitat Conservation Plan at the wind energy facility that currently
holds the highest per-turbine bird mortality rate ever documented in North
America. The groups’ primary concerns reference violations of the Endangered
Species Act (ESA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Migratory Bird
Treaty Act (MBTA), and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA). A
press release from American Bird Conservancy, one of the organizations signing
onto our comments, can be read here, and the comments submitted to the agency
can be downloaded here.